08 March 2017

Caz Frear becomes 30th ex-student to get a book deal

by Rufus Purdy

You may have noticed on our homepage that the number of students going on to get a book deal from our creative writing courses has just risen to 30. Equivalent to the number of two entire CBC student groups (we only take 15 students at a time on to our selective courses), this new figure is particularly pleasing because it includes Caz Frear (above) – one of the loveliest and most hard-working students we’ve ever had. Caz, who studied with us on our novel-writing course in London in 2014, has just won the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition with her crime thriller Sweet Little Lies – and the novel will be published in the UK by Bonnier Zaffre this summer.

Set in contemporary London with flashbacks to late 1990s Ireland, Sweet Little Lies is about police detective Cat Kinsella investigating the murder of Alice Lapaine, whose body is discovered near the pub Cat’s father runs. And when evidence emerges linking Alice to a girl who went missing in Ireland 18 years before, secrets and resentments of the past threaten to spill out.

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan have called Caz ‘an exciting new talent’, and praised her for her ‘storytelling ability, distinctive voice and fantastic grasp of character’. We couldn’t agree more.

Two other former Curtis Brown Creative students have also landed book deals recently. Jessica Jarlvi, who studied on our Six-Month Online Novel-Writing Course in 2015, has just signed a two-book deal with Head of Zeus imprint Aria. And another student, who won’t be completing her novel-writing course in London for another couple of weeks (and would rather remain anonymous until then), has a novel coming out with the digital arm of HarperCollins at the end of this month. Congratulations to all.

For an in-depth course as part of a group of 15 (in which students are selected on the basis of their submission) with a great tutor and participation from our literary agents, apply for:

For a dedicated online course for those writing for young adults or children as part of a group of 15 (in which students are selected on the basis of their submission), with a top children’s author, apply for: